September 22nd, 2009
In my recent article for Mindshare’s Markedshorisont magazine, I describe the upcoming race to re-take the highest value market positions as the economic downturn begins to bottom out. Companies will need to have clear positioning strategies in place and be able to adapt their brands, cultures, operations and marketing to reflect those strategies. Well-prepared companies will be able to increase control of their value chains in three key ways.
Click here to read the article.
If you read Danish, I also recommend that you register online to read the full magazine including articles on neuroscience, brand equity and preventing brand erosion. Click here to register.
Written by Michael Sherain, September 22nd, 2009 in category Brands, Culture, Marketing, Operations, Positioning Strategy |
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September 3rd, 2009
In the global paper industry, companies fight to lift their products above the “commodity” label. Now, Philips Design has been hired to strengthen the differentiation of Stora Enso. Competitors beware.
It’s hard to argue with the power of Philips’ differentiation in a field of similar competitors. As mentioned in a previous post, the involvement of people in the process made the difference. Now, Philips Design is helping Stora Enso through a brand-driven transformation and it sounds like they are using the same thoughtful and engaging approach.
Jouko Karvinen, CEO of Stora Enso, was head of American Philips Medical Systems during 2002-2006, the years in which Philips developed and implemented their positioning strategy. He is already defining Stora Enso’s business more broadly than most, viewing materials like plastic and metal as the real competitive landscape. The collaboration with Philips Design, and the investments that follow, have the potential to change the game in the forest products industry.
Read the announcement by Philips Design
Written by Michael Sherain, September 3rd, 2009 in category Brands, Philips, Positioning Strategy, Uncategorized |
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June 11th, 2009
On the 15th of January, Steve Fludder, the new head of Ecomagination at GE, was interviewed in Fast Company magazine. His honesty reveals a lot, “Customers can always buy on the economics alone. That’s why it’s a sustainable business strategy.” More clearly than ever, he emphasized that “eco” stands for both ecology and economy. In a very short time, Ecomagination repositioned GE as an environmental leader. And, their R&D focus and M&A focus has ensured it is a viable strategy even in a downturn by balancing environmental benefits and cost savings for customers. To ensure we (in the bigger sense) don’t lose the momentum of the past few years, every company should be sure they overtly link environmental responsibility with business benefit. If you can make environmental leadership a true, relevant and high value differentiator across your value chain, don’t hesitate just because everyone else is talking about it.
Written by Michael Sherain, June 11th, 2009 in category Brands, General Electric, Positioning Strategy |
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tagged with: ecology, ecomagination, economy, fludder, green
June 1st, 2009
Surprising as it is, GE caught most of its major competitors off guard in 2005 by making the environment their growth strategy. Creating a “branded commitment” called ecomagination was a brilliant move. Without compromising the power of “imagination at work,” they lifted the environmental focus up to the level of their corporate brand for all employees, customers, media and analysts to see. They leveraged the strategic differentiation they had built as a problem solver, focusing the company on a clear opportunity and driving growth.
When we analyzed GE’s Quadric in 2004, the environment didn’t even show up. Since then, they innovated and bought their way into environmental leadership. Recently, GE was one of the companies with the guts to buy a Superbowl spot (and keep it). The reason is that they see improving the environment and cost savings as two sides of the same opportunity.
The video below describes what happened when GE decided to make the environment their growth strategy:
Written by Michael Sherain, June 1st, 2009 in category Brands, Positioning Strategy |
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